FT. MYERS, Fla. and DELAND, Fla. (Oct. 25, 2012) – The ETSU men’s soccer team begins a three-game road trip to close out the regular season this weekend, with its first two stops coming in the Sunshine State to take on Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson.

After going winless in five-consecutive games during September, the Buccaneers have gone without a loss through all of October at 4-0-1. The month began with a convincing four-goal victory over North Florida, and also includes ETSU extending its unbeaten streak against ranked opponents to six games with a draw against then-No. 18 Wake Forest. The Bucs’ current five-game unbeaten streak is tied for the longest in program history, and ETSU has outscored its opponents 14-3 during the stretch.

Junior David Geno (Kingsport, Tenn.) has been on a tear. The product of Dobyns-Bennett has scored a goal in each of the last five games, totaling 11 goals, seven assists and 29 points on the year. All three of those marks are ETSU single-season records, and lead the Atlantic Sun in each category. Geno’s points total ranks tied for fifth this year in the NCAA, while he also ranks among the nation’s top 10 in points per game (1.93) and total goals.

Second-year goalkeeper Ryan Coulter (Dublin, Ireland) has been a key part to ETSU’s great defensive play. Coulter has posted three shutouts during ETSU’s five-game unbeaten streak, and has surrendered just three goals through five conference games for an A-Sun GAA of 0.60. The Irish keeper’s three shutouts and league GAA each rank first in the conference. After shutting out Northern Kentucky last Friday, Coulter was named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his collegiate career.

ETSU’s Last Outing

ETSU had its first all-time meeting with Northern Kentucky last Friday, shutting out the Norse at Summers-Taylor Stadium, 3-0. The two sides took a scoreless game into the locker room, but ETSU used a three-goal, second-half surge to jump all over the A-Sun’s newest member. Geno opened the scoring with his A-Sun leading 11th goal of the season in the 52nd minute, while seniors Franck Doumbe (Silver Spring, Md.) and Alesi Osorio (Austin, Texas) added to the lead on Senior Night.

When the final whistle sounded, ETSU had outshot the Norse 14-5, and Coulter had made three saves to earn his second-consecutive shutout. The win moved ETSU’s points total to 12 in the league standings, which currently ties them for first place with Mercer.

Scouting the Eagles

FGCU enters Friday as winners of their last three games. The streak began on Oct. 12 against USC Upstate, 1-0, which also includes victories against North Florida, 2-0, and most-recently at Jacksonville, 3-2. Those three wins come in the aftermath of a loss to Lipscomb and a draw against Northern Kentucky, giving the Eagles 10 points and placing them third in the league standings.

Felipe DeSousa heads the FGCU attack. DeSousa has scored five of the team’s 18 goals, and also leads the Eagles with 11 points. William Morse and Henry Penagos have three goals apiece. In goal, Nathan Ingham carries a GAA of 1.38, surrendering 19 goals in 13 games.

Scouting the Hatters

Stetson is looking for its first win since Sept. 26, having gone 0-3-2 in its last five games. The Hatters kicked off the conference season earlier than most, beating Jacksonville, 2-0, on Sept. 7, but have gone 0-3-1 in their last four A-Sun contests. Stetson’s five-game winless streak began at Mercer on Oct. 7, and also includes losses to UCF, USC Upstate, Lipscomb and Northern Kentucky.

Kai Eckenrode has just two goals this season to lead a depleted Stetson attack. As a team, the Hatters have scored just six goals while conceding 15. Andreas Schnabel has been between the posts every minute of the season, carrying a GAA of 1.29.

Series History

The last time ETSU met FGCU was in last year’s A-Sun Championship Final at Summers-Taylor Stadium, which the Eagles won with a goal in the 89th minute, 1-0. The win boosted the Eagles ahead 3-2-0 in the all-time series after ETSU had knotted it up with a win during the 2011 regular season. FGCU has won both meetings at Eagle Field.

A game before falling to FGCU in the final, ETSU came back from two goals down to advance past Stetson in the 2011 A-Sun Semifinals. At the end of two overtimes, the Bucs and Hatters were tied, 3-3, but ETSU went on to win an eight-round penalty kick shootout, 5-4. Overall, Stetson leads the series 4-1-2, but has not defeated ETSU in their last three meetings. The Hatters are 2-0 when playing the Bucs in DeLand.

Coverage

Live stats against FGCU will be provided by Stat Broadcast through FGCUAthletics.com, while Sunday’s live stats versus Stetson will be available at GoHatters.com. Free live video will be available for both games on ASun.TV.

ETSU Notes

- ETSU is on a five-game unbeaten streak, tied for the longest in program history.

- David Geno leads the A-Sun in goals (11), assists (7) and points (29). All three totals are new ETSU single-season records.

- Ryan Coulter has surrendered just three goals in five A-Sun games for a conference GAA of 0.60.

- ETSU and FGCU last met in the 2011 A-Sun Championship Final, which the Eagles won 1-0 with a goal in the 89th minute. Two days earlier was ETSU’s last meeting with Stetson, which ended in a tie, 3-3, but the Bucs advanced to the final by winning the penalty kick shootout, 5-4.

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For more information on ETSU men's soccer, please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's soccer links.